Saturday, May 29, 2010

I am not certain if the primary reason for me to instantly call these armwarmers Hippie or Faery Goth is the colour. Then again, I do think that having them in black would only take away the instant earthiness, yet they would still retain their Faery credibility. (Reflect on that concept just a little while, won't you.)

Not knowing exactly what to call the strings in the middle, I still approve it and the simplicity of the design. The only thing I would make differently is to place the label underneath the armwarmer, or else make it a tad more discrete.

Available in different colours, such as black, white and olive green. Found here.

Friday, May 28, 2010

This shoe, I think, is too chunky to be elegant and yet too slim-lined to really achieve that clog look which very often works quite nicely. Taking just one stripeful of shoe away would already improve this look immensely, although I am not certain that the stripes do the form any good, anyway. And the ankle action... Those three straps might look nice in an otherwise simpler and more graceful shoe.

Pleaser shoes can be found practically anywhere, but these I bumped into here.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

The season of the Evil Day-Star is coming up, and even goths may have to slip into something a little less sweaty than what they usually wear. A bikini top with a gothic flare to it would suit the purpose nicely, one should think. One is merely a little bit confused as to why My Little Halo only sells bikini tops and not bottoms.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

It is interesting, if not surprising, how much the themes of hippie clothing overlap with rave garments - I have seen a lot of the traditional India-inspired imagery (deities and such) that modern hippies fancy, put in clothes which lean more towards the gothic rave style. Indeed, it is a small step to take to go from rave to hippie. Neither of them, however, very often take advantage of patterns that usually are called "celtic". That is why this hoodie caught my attention. The shape of the hood speaks Hippie Goth to me. Other than that and the celtic swirls, there is little special about the garment, but I think it makes a nice everyday look in any case. Or everynight, having that it does glow in the dark.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

I tend to think that what separates Gothic Lolita and Sweet Lolita is the cuteness factor and whether it goes over the top or not. Sweet Loli is definitely and always excessively and exclusively cute. Gothic Lolita takes the cute and dips it into a vat of sombre and gloom. That being said, I am not certain if the only thing that does not make this skirt Sweet Lolita is it being black and white.

Be as it may, it is nice to see something that could fall into the Gothic Lolita category and have it more white than black. There are a lot of layers, yes, but the structure still somehow manages to stay focused, and the piano keys bring a much-needed graphic element to tone down the fluff. The problem remains, however, that this skirt lacks in elegance, which would be greatly called for in order for it to really cross that line between frilly Gothic and GL.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

When last I visited the Harajuku area of Tokyo, Japan, and the bridge on which local teenagers pose for tourists and showcase the current trends of local alternative fashion, I noticed nearly two-thirds of them were wearing something similar to what is shown above, although theirs had a significant amount of extra clutter. Overall, this is a cool, interesting look and can be executed with shorts and skirts alike. I suspect that one does need to be quite confident of their legs. Also, I doubt that these would stay up without the removable straps, so I wouldn't suggest one to remove them.

Found here. (It's a horrible Flash-based site, but the garments, for the major part, are beautiful.)

Monday, May 17, 2010

You may have to be a science fiction fan to some extent in order to fully appreciate this style, I would imagine. Pardon my bias. This shirt speaks 'Strength' in a way, and it is impeccably tailored, as all military-inspired garments must. I also think that the colour grey is an excellent choice for this shirt, even if it does make the thing quite... literal, so to speak.

Friday, May 14, 2010

To take a material like this and achieve a maximum level of sophistication is no small task. Yet there is hardly any other word that would describe this fine jacket better. The cut is that of the jackets in the Regency era, and due to the choice of fabric there is no doubt to whether this piece is still contemporary. I am intrigued by how many styles this single garment is crossing, from historical influence to the Matrix-inspired Rivethead look and towards the fetish aesthetics.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

When a garment looks like underwear worn on the outside, it usually doesn't make the thing any more attractive, but sadly often au contraire, instead. This case is no exception. Combining a heavy print with such a skimpy, thin fabric and adding some ruffle action in the hemline were bad enough as they were, without the bra-like bust.

Indeed, the only aspect of this top that doesn't have an undergarment-like feel to it is the print (and perhaps the loose, spineless lacing in the back, as well), hence condemning the garment forever into the sad limbo that lies between outer wear and lingerie, it not being able to function as either one of them.

Monday, May 10, 2010

I must once again stress how little I know about handbags and purses and such, and how my personal taste appears quite limited to large, conventional carrier bags. But I see this and I see the print and the design, and for those reasons it caught my attention. There is a certain feeling of crossing Lolita with Cyber, which is interesting, and I like it how the shape is so simple that it carries the busy image well.

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

There is altogether too much going on with this coat. It fits surprisingly well even on a mannequin, but with lacing, the bat wing hem, crosses, buckles, rivets, straps and messy-looking string hanging from the sleeves, the good things of this garment (namely the collar and the contrast stitching) drown and get lost. On top of all things, the fabric looks unintentionally crinkly, which is never appealing.

Monday, May 03, 2010

I am, gods forbid, drawn to this piece of clothing for some bizarre reason. (Or would, if I were an emo.) I actually like the print, the whole design of it, and think that it is successful in exactly the form it has taken, which is a t-shirt. A lot of prints can't really carry that much colour, but the line art in this one resembles a colour-me book in a weirdly fashion-forward way.

Also: if there has to be a set of wings in the back of any garment, then let that garment have something to do with uniponies. Unipony. That word, by the way, has to be one of the cutest words I have recently seen.

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Darker Fashions is all about alternative fashion, including, but not limited to, Neo-Victorian, types of Lolita, EGA, Hippie, Steampunk, Cyber, Rivethead... May also contain traces of mainstream.

The purpose of this blog is simply to explore the world of alternative aesthetics, and to express my views on what is out there; the good, the bad, and the ugly. The blog does not reflect my personal style (unless otherwise stated) but aims for a wider point of view.

All expressed opinions are mine and I represent only myself*. I link all pictures to their sources for copyright reasons, not to promote nor advertise. Please, do not use my blog to advertise.

When an item is "approved of", it does not mean I recommend anyone to buy it or wear it, nor can I confirm the reliability of its manufacturer or retailer. Use your own judgement. If I went there, I'd be sitting here researching day in and day out.

No criticism is pointed at any private person/s. It's just fashion, people, nothing serious. I'm just a random fellow with a blog. I only post from commercial sites, that is to say, stuff that is on sale, not DIY projects.

Updated 1-5 times per week.

All questions and comments are welcome, either in blog or via e-mail. I do moderate comments, however, and while I encourage conversation and challenging my views, trolling and flaming are strongly frowned upon.

Notifying of any broken pictures in old entries especially appreciated. Links get old and die, unfortunately.

Those unfamiliar with Blogspot: click the picture(s) to enlarge (but bear in mind that some original pictures remain very small).

To contact us, mail to inakhus (a) gmail.com

*Both Khar and Hrafn represent only themselves, that is, even though they usually agree.